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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25100932">Effects of the Snap</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyzelah/pseuds/Lyzelah'>Lyzelah</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Leverage, Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, Eliot Spencer/Parker/Alec Hardison (if you squint), Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Season 5 Leverage Finale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:27:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,580</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25100932</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyzelah/pseuds/Lyzelah</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On that fateful day, the snap affected more than just the Heroes that people recognized. It also affected those Heroes that not many know.</p><p>(A collection of one shots, each a different outcome, a different story)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Snap: Eliot's View</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I put off posting this for so long. I don't think any of these chapters have been beta read. I can't remember. anyway, Enjoy what came from my twisted mind</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Their day had begun like many others. They had infiltrated and framed the man known as Don Harrelson. He owned Harrelson Inc, a company that manufactured clothes and backpacks in the US, making them desirable because they didn’t ship everything overseas to sweatshops. Or at least that was the Idea. Unfortunately Harrelson had knowingly created sweatshops in the US, paying off public officials, and police.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Jame Kendal discovered evidence of the situation, he started investigating it from the inside.When he started asking too many questions, Harrelson ordered him… taken care of.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The car accident killed Kendal and left his daughter in the hospital.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Sarah Kendal approached them about her husband and daughter, Leverage accepted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now they stood in front of the woman’s house, Hardison holding out the duffle bag with that trademark smile on his face, “Here you go. That should pay for your daughter's medical bills.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,  but… what about..?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harrelson?” Hardison finished her sentence,  making the woman nod, “let's just say he'll have plenty of leisure time to think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled, voice going soft, “thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“take care of yourself.” Eliot smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded as Parker turned and started walking away. Hardison followed with a wave, And Eliot brought up the rear with a nod and a wink. He raised his gaze to watch the interactions between Parker and Hardison who were silently, comfortably walking shoulder to shoulder several paces ahead of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then everything went wrong. The woman behind them screamed, making Eliot spin. He turned in time to see the woman drop the duffel bag, her body vanishing into dust particles. Her hands and feet went first. Eyes wide, ensnaring Eliot’s as the wind blew her away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliot!” Hardison’s voice tore him away from their client as he spun again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alec…” Parker whispered, her voice cracking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardison had Parker’s face cradled in his hands, “It’s okay, I got you, I got you.” He pressed his forehead to hers and sighed, “It’s okay, It’s Okay, Parker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parker raised a flaking hand to his face, “Shh…” She smiled, “It’s okay, Alec. I got you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parker…” Eliot’s voice was little more than a whisper as he watched her start to flake away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… Cold. I’m freezing.” She looked down at her feet, which were gone, and then back up at Hardison, eyes wide with fear, “Stay with me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” Hardison nodded, his eyes glimmering with tears as he kissed her forehead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliot…” She reached towards him, but her hand was already gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parker.” He reached out and put a hand on the back of her neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliot… I’m afraid…” She whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Parker. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” His voice was unsteady, he couldn’t clear the lump that sat there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She met his troubled gaze and smiled, “I trust you,” And then she was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardison fell to his knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot squatted next to him, concerned, “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I…” he shook his head, “I can't feel my legs… Man please…” He looked at Eliot before falling back, “Oh, Shit. Oh shit…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot looked at Hardison’s legs, turning into the same ash as Parker, but didn't move, heart pounding, “Hardison…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardison looked at him, “I don't want to die,  man, I don't…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other man tried to pull him into a sitting position but Hardison just collapsed into his chest, forcing Eliot to hold him as his body slowly dissolved, “I'm here, man, I got you. I'm here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardison Laughed, sniffing as tears streamed down his cheek, “I had so much I wanted to do. So much I wanted to say…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot couldn’t think of what to say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardison’s chest shuddered a little as he took a deep breath, “See you on the other side,”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he was gone, nothing but ashes flaking away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot Spencer waited for several moments before standing. He didn’t bother to contain his distraught emotions but prepared himself to experience what they had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But It never happened. He waited for hours, in the same spot, unwilling to leave his team, his family, behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And when he accepted that he wasn’t going to  dissolve he walked over to where the woman had dropped the bag and vanished. As he picked it up, he had one thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>FInish the last job right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Five years later Eliot stood in the kitchen of the brewpub, shouting at the regulars who always gave him a hard time. Then he set the plate in front of the thirteen year old girl.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you Uncle Eliot.” She sighed, scribbling on the paper in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Having trouble?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, math is hard.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Math is hard” He agreed, “but what math specifically?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She showed him the book, “Fractions.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, fractions are hard.” He frowned, focusing on the paper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Boss!” one of the Waitresses called, “Take a look at the news!” She shoved the phone into his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is Damien Hugh coming to you live from downtown New York, where five years after half of all living things mysteriously vanished, people are appearing back as if no time has passed at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot’s heart stopped, “Della, Watch Katie for me, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uncle Eliot?” The Thirteen Year old girl frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on tight, Katie. I need you to sit here and be good for Della, okay? I’ll be back soon, and I’ll have a surprise for you.” He promised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he was wrong, he could get her something from the store. No need to get her hopes up for nothing. But if he was right…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot was on edge the whole drive. It didn’t matter if he knew the roads like the back of his hand. He was sure that he’d gotten lost many times.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled to a stop in front of the house and leapt out of the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dude, what are you doing? Where did you go? You…” Hardison didn’t get to finish as Eliot pulled both Parker and him into a bone crushing hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot couldn’t speak, as he got hesitant pats from Hardison and Parker both who seemed mildly confused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he pulled back, “It’s been five years.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardison’s eyes went wide, “Five…” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot hugged him tightly again, “I had no Idea how much I missed you until I saw you guys again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned to Parker and hugged her too. She accepted his Hug a little more preparedly, “What happened, Do you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You turned to Dust.” He pulled back and then looked at the woman standing in front of the house, “Mrs. Kendal.” He cleared his throat, “Come with us, Your daughter’s waiting for you.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Snap: Hardison's View</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one was one of the ones I put off writing because I didn't think I could do it right.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were days where they were busy with heists or the brewpub, and there were lazy days, when No one wanted to do anything. Eliot sat at the table, elbows on his knees, sharpening one of his knives. You could never tell how many Knives Eliot had at any given moment. Some days Hardison suspected that he had enough steel to make an Iron man suit if he melted them down.<br/>
Just a little ways away, on the couch, Parker sat cross legged, reading the books that Sophie had given her before leaving. She’d called it a “Summer reading list”<br/>
Hardison looked up from his laptop to Eliot and over to Parker who didn’t move, eyes slowly drooping.<br/>
“I’m so bored.” Parker sighed, “I wanna do something fun.”<br/>
“Like what?” Eliot didn’t look up from where he was checking the sharpness of the blade.<br/>
“I dunno. We could go steal something.”<br/>
“We don’t have a job right now.” Hardison frowned.<br/>
“Fine.” Parker rolled over, sprawling on the couch again, “Can Eliot punch someone?”<br/>
“I mean…” Eliot shrugged.<br/>
“Nah, uh-uh. Eliot ain’t punchin nobody.” Hardison pointed at him as if that would make the other man not punch anyone.<br/>
“I’m not, Just sayin’ I could.” Eliot grumbled setting the knife on the table with the others.<br/>
“Guys…?” Parker’s voice changed, “My hand is all fuzzy…”<br/>
Hardison glanced over to see her hand crumbling. He was on his feet and at her side in a matter of moments, “On my god, what’s happening?”<br/>
“I… I feel a little sick.” Parker said carefully, reaching out with her opposite hand, “Hardison?”<br/>
He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, “I’m here, are you okay?”<br/>
“Just Fuzzy, hard to focus. Am I dying?”<br/>
The question hung in the air, Eliot kneeling beside Hardison. Parker nodded, “I thought so. Guess I shouldn’t have complained about being bored.” She chuckled, by this time her legs were gone and she was starting to flake up the torso quickly, “Hardison, Eliot. Don't forget me.”<br/>
Hardison leaned in to kiss her, then his hand was clutching nothing as her fingers vanished.<br/>
“I won’t…” He whispered, her face turning to ash.<br/>
He couldn’t think. She was gone.<br/>
“What do we do?” He asked, quietly. Eliot would know. Eliot always knew what to do, “She’s gone, she’s dead! She can’t be. What happened? I just…”<br/>
“Shut up, Dammit Hardison!”<br/>
His tone made Hardison whirl to yell at him but Eliot was clutching his leg at the knee, foot and calf already mostly gone.<br/>
“Eliot!”<br/>
The man had fallen to his back and was thrashing around slightly, “Hurts. Like frostbite.”<br/>
“What do you need, Man? What should I do?”<br/>
Eliot’s eyes zeroed in on him, “I’ll tell you what you do. You keep going. You don’t give up, and you keep being you Got that?”<br/>
“Eliot…”<br/>
“Give me your Hand. don’t want to be alone.”<br/>
Hardison obeyed, taking Eliot's hand tight in both of his own as Eliot’s hips and stomach started to go.<br/>
“We had a good run, yeah? The three of us?”<br/>
“Yeah, we did.”<br/>
“Still going to, right?” Eliot’s head and hands were starting to flake.<br/>
“Right.” Hardison’s voice was coming out in cracked sobs.<br/>
Eliot’s eyes closed a half second, and he chuckled, opening his eyes to meet the other’s, “Age of the Geek, man.”<br/>
“Age of the Geek.” Hardison responded wetly.<br/>
One last closing of the eyes and the Recovery Specialist was gone. Hardison sat, alone in the room, unaware of the commotion outside.<br/>
“Hey, Boss. We need you!”<br/>
Hardison raced out to the front where chaos was reigning, people were crying, shouting, scared. Tables had been knocked over, food and dishes had shattered on the floor, and that’s when it dawned on him, this hadn’t just been Parker and Eliot. This had been a lot of people.<br/>
He organized the remaining staff, around half had been dusted.<br/>
Hardison didn’t feel right, charging people who had just barely escaped death like that. They closed up shop roughly twenty minutes later. Serving staff was sent home soon after, and Hardison cleaned.<br/>
It was odd, he normally hired other people to clean. But this time… <br/>
Once it was done he went back into the apartment and knelt where he had been before the shop devolved into chaos.<br/>
And he mourned.<br/>
***<br/>
He lit a small candle in front of each of their photos and sighed. One year. One year and he still couldn’t change a thing about the apartment. He could still see their shining eyes, Parker and Eliot. <br/>
He kept the brewpub open. Kept people employed that were there before. Being a thief wasn’t something you just stopped doing. But now it was far too easy to hack into places. Less people to fill the jobs, half of the population was gone.<br/>
He didn’t sleep. He’d wake up imagining them in the middle of the night, only this time, they were bloody and dying, not just ash. Parker with blood dripping from her head, eyes dull. Eliot coughing and trying to drag himself along the floor to get to her.<br/>
He didn’t forget them.<br/>
***<br/>
Hardison lit another candle on year two, and one on year three. On year four, he lit the candle and then picked up the beer open on the table. <br/>
There were still Knives scattered all over, it made him feel better, safer. Like Eliot was still there. He’d hung a rope from the second floor, like Parker would when she was testing out harnesses.<br/>
He walked back to the couch and slumped down to the ground, tipping the beer back. If he closed his eyes he could remember them. <br/>
His family.<br/>
There was nothing fun to do anymore. Hacking was lackluster since the dusting. <br/>
He’d gone to visit the “monument of the disappeared” just to see, but neither Eliot nor Parker ended up on the Monument. He shouldn’t have expected to find them, having lived under the radar. But it would have been nice to see someone, anyone, missed them as much as he did.<br/>
***<br/>
He lit that fifth candle by the shrine he’d constructed and took up position. Laying his head back against the couch pretending that Parker was there, staring at the ceiling, comfortable and silent. If he pretended hard enough, he could hear the scrape of Eliot’s knife on the whetstone.<br/>
He closed his eyes.<br/>
There was a cough.<br/>
“Hardison?”<br/>
He wrenched his eyes open and stared at Eliot’s face as a hand snaked over his shoulder.<br/>
He grabbed Parker’s hand and just about yanked her off the couch into his lap, burying his face in her golden hair.<br/>
“Hardison..!” She started.<br/>
“Please, Just let me have this.” He whispered and then looked at Eliot, “you too, come here.”<br/>
“No thanks, I’m good.”<br/>
“I didn’t ask.”<br/>
And Eliot must have seen something in Hardison’s eyes because he moved in closer and sat beside him. Hardison wrapping an arm around his shoulder and an arm around Parker’s waist.<br/>
“God, You have no Idea how much I’ve   missed you. Five years, you’ve been gone.” His voice barely above a whisper, “Five years is a long time for me.”<br/>
Parker didn’t say anything but glanced at Eliot who looked equally as disturbed. The door opened and someone was shouting.<br/>
“Boss! Their back! They’re all back!” the server was gone again.<br/>
Hardison nodded, not moving, “I know.”<br/>
They were home, His family was all back where they belonged.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Snap: Parker's View</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Parker's was the Hardest to write. As a character Parker is always hard to write.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There were certain things that didn’t change, when Sophie and Nate left. Movie night was one of them. Hardison would put on a movie that either she or Eliot hadn’t seen and they would watch. The night evolved how it always would, with Eliot poking fun at the unrealistic aspects of the movie until Hardison got irritated and Parker started to ask questions about why people were doing things the way they were doing until Hardison finally crossed his arms and said, “Fine, see if I show you another movie.” knowing full well they would be sitting in the same place next week with a new movie that Hardison chose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Some things never changed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Like Eliot flippantly getting up to grab snacks during the climax of the movie just to irritate Hardison. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you touch my orange crush and gummy frogs!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I ain’t touchin’ your toxic sugar drink or solid sugar sludge, don’ worry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Toxic sugar drink, you bite your tongue.” Hardison Grumbled, pouting from the far side of the couch, “That’s elixir of the gods, but I wouldn’t expect you to know the difference.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a loud clang as the metal bowl hit the ground causing Parker to flinch, and turn, kneeling on the couch to yell at Eliot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the words caught in her throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot’s expression was dark, confused, and scared, an emotion Parker had never seen on his face before, not really. Eyes tracking down, she looked at his hands, which weren’t hands at all, they were stumps, flaking away like he was soldering and turning to Ash. then his eyes caught her, a slight glint of tears glazing his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parker, Hardison, I…” He swallowed thickly, shifting to step towards them, “My head hurts…” his legs gave out, turning to ash, and as soon as his body hit the floor, it crumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parker stared for a split second before Hardison’s croaking voice said, “Park..?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned to him, slightly scared, and followed his gaze down to his hands. Fingertips flaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nonononono…” She grabbed his shoulders, “Stop it, Stop it right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, babe… I don’t think I can.” He said quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then he hugged her. Strong and sure. A strangled sob escaped her, “No, you can’t do this. You have to stay here. You promised, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>promised</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Please don’t leave me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled back slightly, hands gone, “Look at me, Parker. I’m not going to leave you. I will always be with you. I promise. I’ll be here everyday. I’ll be with you. Every step of the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded shakily and hugged him again. Strong arms turned to dust, and her arms collapsed in their hug, until she was curled over hugging herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waited, waited for her body to dissolve, listening to Repo! the Genetic Opera in as she did. It took thirty minutes before she realized it wasn’t happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was still here, alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One hand dropped to the couch. And she looked down at pile of ash there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt sick, barely made it to the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thoughts whirled in her head, dancing around like demons. She was alone. She rinsed out her mouth, and spat. She was alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then she looked up at herself in the mirror, red ringed eyes, and all, and made a decision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t stay here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Four Years had passed, and Parker had stolen enough art to rival her record of “how much can I steal in a ridiculously small amount of time”, now she sat in her harness, suspended from the ceiling, staring at a beautiful work of art, which should make her feel something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She touched the small vials around her neck, “I think we did a stellar job, what do you think, Eliot? Hardison?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ashes didn’t talk back. They never did. In Parker’s head they were with her, but she couldn’t feel them there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Beautiful piece of artwork.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The voice startled her but the man standing in front of the painting didn’t look at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t like it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She thought about it, “No. I don’t like it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t feel anything.” She said feeling a little too raw for a confrontation, “I used to feel something before…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Before the dusting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned slightly, “My name is Clint. And you must be Parker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you tell me about the people you lost?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They were my family. We did everything together. They were good people. Made me feel like I could be a good person and make a difference.” Parker’s voice was quiet, “we helped people, but without them… I can’t. I don’t even get joy from stealing artwork anymore. With so many people gone, there's no challenge. It’s not fun.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man sighed, “It’s not fair, y’know? Lost every member of my family. All of them. My son, daughter, my wife.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How’d you keep going?” Parker asked with a glance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anger. There are people who should have died but didn’t.” Clint’s voice was harsh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I came here to Kill you, Parker.” Clint’s voice made her tense, heart hammering as adrenaline dumped into her system.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The silence stretched out between them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t know. But I think you’re a good enough person to keep around…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Clint smiled at her, and she glanced back to the painting. A slight glimmer of hope in her chest. She was good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she glanced back, Clint was gone, and sounds in the distance told her she should leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was starting to feel again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... And this is Breaking news, we are receiving reports of millions of people reappearing after their mysterious disappearances five years ago. Around that time, roughly one half of all living creatures in every country mysteriously vanished. However, now people are reappearing where they had been before their disappearance. We now go to our Agents in the field, Albert and Sasha, welcome back Sasha, It is good to see you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parker slammed open the door to the brewpub that had been closed and locked for roughly five years, racing into the back room, “Hardison, Eliot!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The back room was empty, the lights were still off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hardison!” She yelled again, “Eliot”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Parker!” Eliot called from further into the apartment, running out to meet her half way as she latched onto him in a hug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eliot.” She whispered into his shoulder. Strong arms. Solid, warm. Then she saw Hardisone and wrapped one hand in his shirt, yanking him into their Embrace. Both men awkwardly patting her back as she displayed more emotion than they were used to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Strong arms, warm, heartbeats. She needed to hear them. She bent her head and pressed her ear against Hardison’s chest until she heard the steady thump before transferring to Eliot’s.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened Parker?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been five years. Five years ago half of all living things turned to dust.” She said, ignoring the tears that wanted to fall, “I’ve missed you. Both of you.” She whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened, do you know?” Eliot asked carefully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head, “Can it wait? I just want to hold you guys for a while?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hardison looked at Eliot and smiled, “Guess it’s Movie night still?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eliot sighed, “Queue up the movie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Parker watched them like a hawk until they both sat down, on either side of her. Finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Finally</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She was home again</span>
</p>
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